Tag: David Henry

Councilmembers talk salary boost for Bloomington clerk, council admin, and council itself

Stephen Lucas, Bloomington city council attorney (Bloomington, Aug. 28, 2023)
Nicole Bolden, Bloomington city clerk (Aug. 28, 2023)

On the first night of Bloomington’s 2024 departmental budget hearings, Bloomington’s elected city clerk Nicole Bolden opened her presentation like this: “I’m going to start with the very big elephant in the room: This is not the budget proposal that I wanted to make to the council this evening.”

Non-union employees in the city will see a 5-percent salary increase as a part of the proposed 2024 budget.

But Bolden wants the city clerk’s position  paid substantially more, not just 5-percent more than the $64,773 that is specified in a 2023 salary ordinance. That’s the salary ordinance that covers elected city officials—the clerk, city councilmembers and the mayor.

No final decisions were made Monday night.

After the discussion of the clerk’s salary came some deliberations on the proposed salary for the city council’s administrator/attorney, Stephen Lucas.

The council appears to have already convinced the mayor to include in the 2024 proposed budget a substantial increase in the council administrator/attorney salary. After the meeting, Lucas told The B Square his understanding was that the increase for his position is 10.6 percent.

That would put the compensation for his position at around $104,000 for 2024.

In the proposed 2024 budget, the salaries for city councilmembers were erroneously left without the planned 5-percent increase, which would have meant a raise to $21,153 for 2024. But based on deliberations on Monday night, some councilmembers are looking to consider a more substantial increase for the position of city council.

Councilmember Dave Rollo said that based the information he had looked at, Bloomington city councilmembers are compensated “very poorly…much lower than the lowest quartile of city councils.” Rollo wants Lucas to pull together information about compensation for city councils in other second-class cities in the Hoosier state. Continue reading “Councilmembers talk salary boost for Bloomington clerk, council admin, and council itself” →

Filling Monroe County election supervisor position called “good first step” by League of Women Voters

The upcoming Nov. 7 local elections include just one contested municipal race—for Bloomington city council District 3—plus a referendum question for Monroe County Community School Corporation (MCCSC).

Monroe County election supervisor Ryan Herndon (Aug. 23, 2023)

So they’re not expected to present a big logistical challenge for the county’s election division.

Still, this year’s municipal elections will serve as a kind practice run for the 2024 presidential elections.

In a letter to area elected officials dated Tuesday, Aug. 22, the League of Women Voters of Bloomington-Monroe County sounded the alarm about staffing for the presidential election cycle.

Looking ahead to 2024, the letter states: “The League of Women Voters is concerned that Monroe County will not be prepared to conduct the primary and general elections with adequate and knowledgeable staff support.”

Two key staff departures this year are the source of the league’s concern. Chief deputy clerk Tressia Martin resigned at the end of July. County election supervisor Karen Wheeler left in early February.

When the league sent the letter, it was not widely known that a new election supervisor had been hired. Ryan Herndon, who has served up to now as a deputy in county clerk Nicole Browne’s office, has been on the job as election supervisor since Aug. 1.

Responding on Wednesday to an emailed B Square question about the league’s letter, Browne relayed the news of a new hire: “I am very proud to oversee elections in Monroe County and, in fact, we do have a new election supervisor in place.” Continue reading “Filling Monroe County election supervisor position called “good first step” by League of Women Voters” →

11-member vote center committee OK’d by Monroe County election board, members not yet appointed

Monroe County election board from left: Lisa-Marie Napoli (proxy for Nicole Browne); David Henry; and Judith Benckart.
Excerpt from the document approved by Monroe County election board defining the vote center study committee

Eleven people are now being sought to fill positions on a committee that has been established to study the question of implementing vote centers in Monroe County.

Vote centers are different from the kind of precinct-based polling locations currently used by Monroe County. At a precinct-based polling site, only voters from specified precincts can cast a ballot there.

Vote centers are polling places where a voter who is registered in any precinct can cast a ballot. For election administrators, it means some additional planning—to make sure that all the different ballots, which are tied to different precincts, are available for voters across the county.

It’s conceivable, but by no means certain, that vote centers could be implemented in time for the 2024 election cycle.

But based on election board deliberations on Thursday, the prevailing sentiment appears to be against trying to implement vote centers in a way that is rushed.

The board removed a requirement in a draft document that said the study committee had to complete its work no later than 150 days after its first meeting. Continue reading “11-member vote center committee OK’d by Monroe County election board, members not yet appointed” →

Election board denies signature challenge by independent Bloomington mayoral hopeful

David Henry, Monroe County Democratic Party appointee to the election board.
Judith Benckhart, Monroe County Republican Party appointee to the county election board.
Rebecca Haviland, supporter of Joe Davis, addresses the Monroe County election board.
Joe Davis, would-be independent candidate for Bloomington mayor.
Monroe County election board meeting: July 13, 2023.

Joe Davis will not appear on the Nov. 7 Bloomington mayoral ballot, unless he prevails in a lawsuit—which he told Monroe County’s election board that he intends to file.

Davis’s remarks came at a Thursday meeting of the three-member election board.

At Thursday’s meeting, board members voted unanimously to deny the challenge Davis had filed, over disqualified signatures that appeared on his petition for ballot access as an independent candidate.

It means that barring a successful lawsuit by Davis, Democrat Kerry Thomson will be the only person whose name appears on the Nov. 7 ballot for Bloomington mayor.

Davis collected over 600 signatures, but the number that were disqualified left him 14 short of the 352 he had to collect.

Davis told the board he wanted to see “a just and fair interpretation of the signatures that I have turned in through my petitions.” Continue reading “Election board denies signature challenge by independent Bloomington mayoral hopeful” →

Election board to meet on question of disqualified signatures for Bloomington mayoral hopeful

Joe Davis files signatures in support of his independent candidacy for mayor of Bloomington. (June 30, 2023)
Monroe County election board members, from left: Nicole Browne, Judith Benchart, and David Henry
Letter from Monroe County election board to Joe Davis.

Questions about disqualified petition signatures, which were submitted to county election staff by Bloomington mayoral hopeful Joe Davis, will be the topic of discussion for Monroe County’s election board next Thursday (July 13).

Davis sought to appear on the Nov. 7 city election ballot as an independent candidate. To meet the requirements under state law, he had to submit at least 352 signatures by June 30 at noon. Davis fell 14 signatures short.

He submitted more than 600 signatures.

To challenge the disqualification of some signatures, Davis has filed a CAN-1 form, which can be used by “a candidate seeking to contest the denial of certification due to insufficient signatures.”

At its meeting this past week, the board gave the challenge by Davis some initial discussion, opting to continue its meeting on July 13 at 1 p.m. The board also decided to send Davis a letter inviting him to attend and be a part of the discussion.

As it currently stands, the race for Bloomington mayor is uncontested. The only candidate who will appear on the ballot is Democratic Party nominee Kerry Thomson. No write-in candidate registered by the July 3 deadline. Continue reading “Election board to meet on question of disqualified signatures for Bloomington mayoral hopeful” →

Election board creates study committee: Monroe County could replace precinct polls with vote centers

Monroe County election board members, from left: Nicole Browne, Judith Benchart, and David Henry
Monroe County election board member Judith Benckart
Monroe County election board member David Henry

At its regular monthly meeting on Thursday, Monroe County’s election board took a small but important step towards the adoption of so-called vote centers as the locations where people cast their ballots.

The board voted to establish a study committee for vote centers, but left the details to be sorted out at its next monthly meeting. Those details include membership, the assigned task, and the timeframe for the group’s work.

In the secretary of state’s seven-step process, forming a study committee is just the second step.

Vote centers are different from the kind of precinct-based polling locations currently used by Monroe County. At a precinct-based polling site, only voters from specified precincts can cast a ballot there.

Vote centers are polling places where a voter who is registered in any precinct can cast a ballot. For election administrators, it means some additional planning—to make sure that all the different ballots, which are tied to different precincts, are available for voters across the county.

Based on remarks at Thursday’s meeting from county attorney Molly Turner-King, other Indiana counties that have adopted vote centers have taken anywhere from 12 to 18 months to complete the process.

Of Indiana’s 92 counties, 60 have adopted vote centers.

Deputy clerk Tressia Martin said her preference would be to wait until after the 2024 presidential election before implementing vote centers. Martin is performing the functions of the election supervisor while that position is vacant. Continue reading “Election board creates study committee: Monroe County could replace precinct polls with vote centers” →

June 29 windstorm: Expert calls for standard report on Monroe County management response

David Henry, emergency management consultant.
Location of cooling stations set up after the June 29, 2023 windstorm
Jamie Neibel, Monroe County director of emergency management.
Bloomington wind damage from June 29, 2023 windstorm (Duke Energy photo)

The severe windstorm that blew through Monroe County a week ago was the topic of a staff report, as well as expert comment from the public mic, at Wednesday’s regular meeting of Monroe County commissioners.

Last Thursday’s storm was what meteorologists call a derecho (say deh-REY-cho)—a severe windstorm featuring a long-lasting and extensive squall line that produces damaging winds over a wide area.

Sharp criticism has been logged on social media outlets about the amount of services provided to the public as well as the amount, quality, and timeliness of information that was available—even to government officials—in the immediate aftermath of the storm

In a Facebook post, Perry Township trustee Dan Combs put it like this: “Townships aren’t FEMA. Fifteen thousand people needed a hand held this morning, but the County said things were GREEN and Good to Go.”

Combs’s reference to green is to the color-coded scheme used by the county emergency management department to describe the current status.

Green means “Normal Operations (No reported issues or emergencies). No actions need to be taken.” The scale includes yellow, orange and red, with red defined as “full emergency conditions” Continue reading “June 29 windstorm: Expert calls for standard report on Monroe County management response” →

Bloomington District 6 city council: Dems pick Zulich

Official tally of the vote (June 30, 2023 Democratic Party caucus)
The six precincts of District 6 are outlined in brown. Surrounding districts (clowise 2, 3, and 4) are shown in green red and yellow.
Nicole Bolden fills out her ballot(June 30, 2023 Democratic Party caucus)
David Henry (June 30, 2023 Democratic Party caucus)
The Hammer (June 30, 2023 Democratic Party caucus)
Official ballot box (June 30, 2023 Democratic Party caucus)
Sydney Zulich (June 30, 2023 Democratic Party caucus)

Sydney Zulich will appear on the Nov. 7 Bloomington municipal election ballot as the Democratic Party’s nominee for Bloomington city council District 6.

Zulich was the selection of the party’s caucus, which was held on Friday, to fill the ballot vacancy resulting from David Wolfe Bender’s resignation as the District 6 nominee.

Bender won the May 2 primary, as the only candidate on the ballot, but resigned amid a dispute over his residency in the district.

At Friday’s caucus, Zulich was the only candidate vying to fill the vacancy.

She completed her undergraduate degree at Indiana University this spring.

The caucus was held in Bloomington’s city council chambers at city hall. Continue reading “Bloomington District 6 city council: Dems pick Zulich” →

Bender resigns as nominee for Bloomington District 6 city council, Dems will caucus to fill ballot

Nicole Bolden (March 26, 2023) B Square file photo.
Sydney Zulich (May 2, 2023) B Square file photo.
Geoff McKim (Oct. 29, 2019) B Square file photo.
David Henry (May 4, 2023) B Square file photo.
The six precincts of District 6 are outlined in brown. Surrounding districts (clowise 2, 3, and 4) are shown in green red and yellow.
David Wolfe Bender (May 18, 2023) B Square file photo.

David Wolfe Bender has withdrawn as the Democratic Party’s District 6 city council nominee in Bloomington’s Nov. 7 municipal election.

Two weeks ago, on May 18, the county election board had convened a hearing on Bender’s disputed residency in District 6.

The board voted to refer the matter to Monroe County prosecutor Erika Oliphant, to consider possible felony charges, and to the Indiana attorney general Todd Rokita on the question of his eligibility as a candidate.

Since then, there has been no word on Bender’s case from either the prosecutor or the attorney general.

Given Bender’s withdrawal, the question of his eligibility is now academic.

Bender was unopposed in the primary. No Republican filed as a primary candidate.

To place a Democrat on the ballot, the party will now convene a caucus of the five sitting precinct chairs of District 6, according to Monroe County Democratic Party chair David Henry.

The date of the caucus has not yet been determined. But the deadline for filling a ballot vacancy, for either the Democrats or the Republicans, is July 3.

It was on Thursday afternoon when Bender filed the CAN 46 form, resigning his candidacy. Continue reading “Bender resigns as nominee for Bloomington District 6 city council, Dems will caucus to fill ballot” →

Local Democratic Party won’t contest District 6 Bloomington council election outcome now, leaves door open to future action

B Square file photo of Monroe County Democratic Party chair David Henry (Jan. 6, 2023).
Monroe County election board member Donovan Garletts (May 18, 2023)
David Wolfe Bender (May 18, 2023)
John Fernandez, who served as a David Henry’s proxy for the May 18, 2023 election board hearing. (May 18, 2023)
Monroe County election board from left: County clerk Nicole Browne, Donovan Garletts, and John Fernandez (May 18, 2023).
The six precincts of District 6 are outlined in brown. Surrounding districts (clowise 2, 3, and 4) are shown in green red and yellow.

Monroe County Democratic Party chair David Henry has confirmed to The B Square that he has not filed a petition under Indiana election code objecting to the outcome of the May 2 primary.

The primary made David Wolfe Bender the party’s nominee for the Bloomington District 6 city council seat in the Nov. 7 municipal election.

The deadline for a party chair to file a petition objecting to the result was noon on Friday (May 19).

The deadline came 23 hours after the election board convened a hearing on the question of Bender’s residency in the district.

The election board voted unanimously to refer to the county prosecutor potential felony charges involving a potential misrepresentation of Bender’s residency on his candidate filing forms. [.pdf of document forwarded to prosecutor and AG]

But in a separate action, the three-member board voted 2-1 to refer to the state attorney general the matter of possible action involving Bender’s eligibility as a candidate.

Thursday’s election board action factored into Henry’s decision, as party chair, not to file a petition. By making its referral to the attorney general, Henry said that the election board had asked the AG to do the same thing that he, as party chair, would have asked a court to do. Continue reading “Local Democratic Party won’t contest District 6 Bloomington council election outcome now, leaves door open to future action” →